Minority Report: Watered Down

Breanna Rae Weber

Benjamin Wilks, Sports Editor

I accept that men and women are equals. I understand and respect the hard work and dedication that the strong women in our history have put forth to fight for equality. I compare it to a straight shot of 1800 Silver Tequila: strong and able to knock you on your ass if you’re not careful.

Compare that to the feminists of today and you’ll be sipping watered down beer mixed with the tears of women and men (ironically) who don’t want equality more so than switching societal positions.

Now, I’m rarely on the fence about things, and despite what my writing of these columns would make you believe, I don’t like speaking on certain topics if I don’t have to. When it comes to women who speak out against the oppression they feel from their male counterparts, I tend to keep my mouth closed for the simple fact that I don’t know their experiences, and I feel that my words will only make them feel belittled rather than simply stating my opinion on a sensitive matter.

My habitual silence comes to an end, though, when I see posts on social media that are clearly biased against men, or in a situation in which any human, male or female, would be wrong.

My problem stems from the messages these posts send, which are that men are usually the wrongdoers, and that women are the usual victims of such wrong doings. This portrayal causes us to argue with each other, and you would only need to take a couple seconds to read the comments on such social media posts to see us divided by our beliefs, and conquered by the sexist reasons behind them.

Yes, women can be sexist. Shocker!

There’s nothing new to that statement, and if it is new to you, then you’ve been living under a rock for a long time now. To believe differently, would be to deny reality.

Is it on the same level as men? A year ago, hell, even a couple months ago, I would have told you no, but now I think my answer has changed.

What we would call feminists nowadays are really power hungry, angry women who want to cause men the same pain and discomfort that they have felt. It doesn’t seem to be about equality anymore. Every now and then you’ll see a comment from a woman exclaiming that true feminism is about equality, but her response to the comments on her post eventually lead to an argument between her and a troll, or a guy pointing out the flaws within feminism respectfully.

The problem is, she can’t tell the difference. She attacks both the troll and the respectful guy with the same dagger, only giving the online troll what he wanted and pushing a man who was once willing to have an intellectual conversation about the inequalities between the sexes, further away from the subject.

I thought the goal was to fight for equality, not to make young men who had little to nothing to do with the way things are feel bad for a society they grew up in just as much as you did. Especially, if those young men are willing to help and fight on your side.

And if you are fighting for equality, then why are there double standards? Standards that women hold for men that they don’t hold for themselves?

The cliché argument that most people bring up almost always includes some physical aspect, so let’s go with that. Although a valid point if argued correctly, I believe this shouldn’t be the first one brought to our attention. The fact is, no one should put their hands on anyone and if they do, then they should be ready to face the consequences, man or woman.

The argument that, because men are strong we shouldn’t hit you back, is ridiculous. It’s ridiculous because we were all raised on the principles that you have a right to defend yourself, as do other people. My parents worded it, “If they put they hands on you, you put your hands on them.”

It’s like speaking to little children when this argument rears its ugly head, and I say children because only a child would argue that they should be able to get hit without being hit back, and only adults who like to baby those who they deem child-like would agree with such nonsense.

Now, there is a difference between beating and fighting your spouse. I wholeheartedly acknowledge this difference, and in no way, shape or form support abuse from one spouse to another.

Equality also means the absence of chivalry, or at least for women to participate. If the man opens the door for you, then you either get the next door or you pull out his chair for him at the table.

If reading that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, then guess what? You don’t want equality.

A man should want to open the door for his woman, but my problem is that it seems to be more of a requirement than a loving gesture. Some women have the biggest problem with cooking their spouse some food. I was taught that if you take a woman out on a date, you open her car door so she can comfortably get it, but if she doesn’t reach over and unlock your door, then she isn’t the one for you. That’s a tradeoff between two people who are showing appreciation of each other in ways that don’t involve being physical.

It is a concept that the women of my generation don’t get because that type of one-sided chivalry is dead. They want an old school treatment that doesn’t mesh with their new school mentality of being independent.

Why would I put you first, if you already do that yourself?

Women loathe hearing that, because you’re a woman, you should let a man do this, but that’s all chivalry is. It stems from an old mentality most women today would consider sexist.

What’s the difference between telling a woman that, because she’s a woman, she should let a man do all the hard work, and believing that doors should be opened for women because they are delicate as flowers and should be pampered as such? Both stem from a belief that women are weak or incapable and always need a man to help them when it’s well known that men need women just as much as women need men.

We need to spike the feminism movement. It has become watered down, and nobody likes the taste of or experience of a watered down version of anything.